The pitcher retired as a player following the 1996 season. He was hired by the Mets in January as pitching coach of Triple-A Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League, and a heart problem was detected during a spring training exam.

Viola was the 1988 AL Cy Young Award winner. He went 176-150 with a 3.73 ERA in 15 major league seasons with Minnesota (1982-89), the Mets (1989-91), Boston (1992-94), Cincinnati (1995) and Toronto (1996).

His daughter Brittany was a diver on the U.S. team at the 2012 Olympics.